


Natsu

by Todsy



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, Naruto has a twin, OC, Tags are going to change, going to add tags, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:19:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10560966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Todsy/pseuds/Todsy
Summary: What If Kushina and Minato would have had twins. Just after Tsunade became Hokage she was informed that the Fourth Hokage's child was residing in the tower - in captivity - and it wasn't Naruto. No, it was his twin Natsu, that had been kidnapped on the night she and Naruto was born and had been taken away.





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, I hope you guys will like this story. I will be updating it when I have the chapters done. So hopefully weekly update could be expected. Anyways I came up with this story a long time ago and finally got myself to write this.

Tsunade had not prepared for this. She had taken the Hokage job when that brat Naruto had won their bet against all odds. But now she had to admit it to herself, she had grown fond of the kid. 

 

Of course, no one told her she would find Naruto Uzumakis twin sister locked up in a room in the Hokage tower. 

 

She was looking stunned at the village elders, ‘’am I really understanding what you are saying right now? You are telling me that the Fourth’s daughter is currently residing inside this building and it’s a S-class secret only known to you in full detail?’’ she said as she scrunched her nose. No, this had to be a joke. There was no way her teacher had kept this poor kid locked up all these years. 

 

‘’It is true and now as you are Hokage we have the orders to tell you about it,’’ Koharu explained in a serious voice. 

 

‘’How did this come to be? Like just one day you noticed that she was living there? Is it possible for me to go see her?’’ She asked and the Koharu and Homura looked at each other and nodded. 

 

‘’Yes you can see her, we will explain the details before that though,’’ Homura took a long breath and started telling the story of the day this child appeared in their lives. 

 

_ ‘’Hokage-sama! An emergency!’’ an Anbu agent came barging through the door to the Hokage's office. Inside was Homura and Koharu with Hiruzen.  _

 

_ Hiruzen cocked his eyebrow in interest and shock, ‘’what is the emergency? Please state your business calmly.’’  _

 

_ The anbu straightened himself before explaining, ‘’while out in a patrol a squad noticed an injured girl outside in the woods. They brought her to the hospital and when she woke up they questioned her was she a nin from another country. She told us that she had escaped from her captors and she only knew Konoha was where her parents were from… Also she explained she had been living with her captors from a very young age. Hokoge-sama, she is really frail. But when we asked for her name she said ‘Natsu Namikaze’,’’ the anbu said with disbelief in his voice.  _

 

‘’What? But that is impossible, there were no living Namikaze left after Minato died.’’ she exclaimed in shock. Of course there is Naruto - she added in her mind. 

 

Homura scoffed, ‘’well yes that is exactly what I said.’’ 

 

_ ‘’But that’s impossible, Minato was the last Namikaze to live without any offspring! There is no way she is a Namikaze. Maybe you heard her name wrong?’’ Homaru questioned the man.  _

 

_ ‘’No we asked her multiple times sir. The girl has now been transported to the Intelligence Division for questioning,’’ he explained and was about to continue but was interrupted by Hiruzen suddenly getting up from his chair.  _

 

_ ‘’I am going to see her for myself,’’ he said with fierce, determined eyes.  _

 

‘’At that moment what we didn’t know was all clear to him. He already knew who this girl was and where she had been. It just happened to be the most guarded secret in Konoha.’’ Koharu explained. 

 

‘’Yes, when we got to the Intelligence Division Hiruzen went to see the girl by himself and had a chat with her. When he got out he ordered her to be moved to the Hokage tower and not let anyone see her be moved. Also no one was to talk about her,’’ Homura explained further, ‘’we of course needed more information on this, we couldn’t let this mysterious child go without knowing more.’’ 

 

_ ‘’Who is this child, that look in your eyes; you know more than you let us know Hiruzen. We need to know, for this village's safety!’’ Homura insisted as they entered the Hokage's office after transporting this kid named Natsu.  _

 

_ Hiruzen sighed tiredly and casted some privacy seals. ‘’This is a S-class secret that you two only will know. I have a bad feeling that I won't survive much longer and I need you two to tell all this to my successor.’’  _

 

_ Homura and Koharu nodded firmly and prepared themselves for what they were about to hear.  _

 

_ ‘’The night Kyuubi attacked and Minato and Kushina died, there was much more going on. I don’t have all the details but I know this: that night Kushina gave birth to two children, a boy and a girl. Those kids were named Naruto and Natsu, the other we already know.’’ Hiruzen paused for a while there.  _

 

_ ‘’As their final resort Minato sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto and Natsu, both getting half of the Kyuubi’s power sealed inside them. When they then fell and the seals around them became undone I happened across the scene. Then I saw it, next to the grib there was a strange man wearing a mask, holding one of the children. I was about to attack him but I was too late when I saw him teleport away with the baby.’’ Hiruzen stated with a pained expression.  _

 

_ ‘’I had thought until now that the kid was probably dead, long lost. But now she is back here, alive. Maybe Kushina and Minato will forgive me if I keep good care of her now,’’ Hiruzen explained when Homura and Koharu just gaped at the information.  _

 

‘’This girl… is the Kyuubi’s jinchuuriki?!’’ Tsunade bursted out. ‘’We have two people keeping that parts of that monster inside of them…? Oh this is wonderful,’’ she grumbled. 

 

‘’Yes it was shocking to know that as well, but the shocking part was about to come,’’ Koharu added. 

 

_ ‘’So… what are you going to do with her? Train her as a ninja like her brother has?’’ Homura questioned.  _

_ To this Hiruzen just shooked his head, ‘’no, I am going to protect her the only way I can now. She must have people looking for her right now. I am sure her captors didn’t just let her get away, there is something behind this. I am gonna keep her in the Hokage tower for now. When I come up with a better solution I will let you know.’’  _

 

‘’We tried to argue him about his decision but he had already made up his mind. I hope you do the opposite and let this girl experience life more,’’ Koharu stated. 

 

Tsunade nodded and stayed quiet for a while, ‘’I think it’s time for me to go and meet up with this girl, please lead the way.’’ 

 

They walked the hallways of the Hokage tower and then they came up to a wall where there was no door in sight. ‘’The door is hidden behind a seal, please wait.’’ Homura stated and casted the seals and then a door appeared in front of them. ‘’We shall wait outside for you.’’ 

  
Tsunade nodded and entered the room.


	2. Freedom

First she noticed that the room was very tidy. It had a twin bed, some desks and chairs in it, but nothing too complicated. There wasn’t a windowed nowhere to be seen. Then her eyes traveled to the red haired girl sitting on one of the chairs. Her hair was medium length and french braided on the left side. She resembled Kushina very much on the outside. 

 

‘’Who are you?’’ she just asked, not even a greeting. 

 

‘’I am Tsunade Senju and I am the new Hokage of this village, now could you tell me your name as well?’’ she asked as nicely as she could. 

 

‘’Hokage, ah, like that old man was? I am Natsu Namikaze,’’ she introduced herself. 

 

I guess there is no more question about her heritage anymore that I’ve seen her - Tsunade thought in her mind. ‘’Umm Natsu, can I call you that?’’ 

 

‘’It’s fine,’’ she stated. 

 

‘’Natsu, do you know why you are keeped in here?’’ Tsunade asked her. 

 

Natsu looked very deep in thought for a moment, ‘’the old man told me I was a really big secret and bad men were after me, so I have to hidden away from the public. He of course told me why I was a secret and everything like that, something about a demon inside me.’’ 

 

Tsunade sighed at the girl and that she called her old sensei ‘’old man’’, but she guessed it was fine for now. ‘’Don’t you ever want to be out of here? I mean, don’t you find this space uncomfortable?’’ 

 

Natsu frowned for a while, but then she smiled kindly, Tsunade saw this as fake immediately, ‘’I am fine living here. After all I had lived in a small cell for most of my life, so this is a huge improvement.’’ she explained with a fake cheery voice. 

‘’Then how did yo-’’ she was cut off by Natsu raising her hand to her face. 

 

‘’Not to be rude or anything but I can already tell what you want to ask so here is the shortened version. My captors fed me the minimum amount needed to keep me alive. They didn’t let me outside, that’s the reason I stayed so skinny and short. When I arrived here I gained some weight and grew some inches, but I am still not the height I should be really. Also I got away by practising jutsus on my own. I had seen my captors do them so I tried to do them myself - of course I did them so that they couldn’t see - then I escaped. I felt this huge surge of energy around me and the next thing I knew I was outside in the forest. The only thing I knew that I wanted to Konoha and by some miracle I ended up in here,’’ she explained with almost a robotic voice. 

 

‘’I’ve gotten some visitors asking me the same questions,’’ she stated, apparently bored. ‘’So my question to you, Hokage, is what do you want with me? Keep me locked up for a little bit more or will you finally let me live the life I never had?’’ she said with a little glare. 

 

Tsunade sighed and brushed her hand through her hair, ‘’I was thinking of letting you out of here and I would teach you the ways of the shinobi. If that is what you want, but I would prefer to be able to keep an eye on you. You still have a huge target on your back.’’ 

 

She observed Natsu’s expression and she was pretty sure she saw a tiny bit of a smirk before her expression turned to a happy one, maybe she was just imagining it. 

 

‘’That would be great! I have always been interested in jutsu! And also I have know some already of course, but I would love to learn more!’’ she said cheerily. Tsunade smiled warmly but then her face strictened. 

 

‘’But understand that you can’t let anyone know of your true identity. I will provide you with a new identity and you will become that person. Especially not let Naruto know of your true heritage!’’ Tsunade stated seriously. 

 

‘’Naruto? You mean my twin brother?’’ Natsu asked, revealing she already knew of her brother. After a while of silence she continued, ‘’yeah I already knew about him. My captors actual told me about the fact I had a brother. A brother that was living in a village, getting a good childhood. Of course I was told of his mistreatment and that, but I can’t feel really attached to him. So don’t worry, I won’t tell him anything.’’ 

 

Tsunade sighed, ‘’that is good. But now, your name will be Natsu Kuenai from this point on. Don’t  **ever** use another name.’’ she pressured the word. When she received a nod from Natsu she stood up from her chair and walked to the door, ‘’well then let’s go shopping for your gear.’’ 

 

Natsu stood up, excited to see what was the outside world like. When Tsunade turned to walk out of the door again a unseen smirk was on Natsu’s face. 

 

Tsunade told Homura and Koharu of her plans and then excused herself and Natsu and they headed to the town. When they were walking through the streets filled with people Tsunade noticed Natsu trying to avert the strange people around her. She let her hand to the girl's shoulder, ‘’there is no need to worry, they won’t do anything to you.’’ she assured her. Tsunade noticed Natsu’s face become more determined and strong after that and she seemed to be less scared of the people around her.

 

Tsunade made a mental note to get her accustomed to being around people. Even though this wasn’t required of shinobi, it was a good skill to have at stealth and infiltration missions. Of course she maybe never had to go on those. 

 

They first went to get her some new clothes. She was now wearing a simple black tank top with a loose red t-shirt on top paired with skin tight shorts and kunai pouches on her tights and more pockets on her belt. Tsunade thought she looked quite cute wearing those clothes. They fitted her well. 

 

‘’I look like an idiot,’’ Natsu remarked, while looking awkward in her new clothes. 

 

Tsunade waved her hand, ‘’you’ll get used to them, now let’s go get your weapons next!’’ she stated enthusiastically. Natsu agreed, not so cheerfully anymore. 

 

When Tsunade was picking out the right Kunai out for Natsu, the girl in question was looking at the swords at the shelf. ‘’Do you like them? My dad made them you know,’’ Natsu flinched as she heard a girl say from behind her. She had her hair in two buns, Natsu decided that the look fitted her quite well. 

 

‘’Ah sorry did I scare you, apologies. I am Tenten by the way, nice to meet you!’’ she introduced herself and held her hand out for a handshake. 

 

Natsu just stared at the hand, not really sure what to do with it, ‘’umm, my name is Natsu Kuenai… nice to meet you…’’ she said awkwardly and took the hand. Then Tenten shook it. 

 

‘’I haven’t seen you around at all! Are you an outsider or something? What’s with you hanging around with the Hokage,’’ she blasted her with questions. 

 

‘’Uh, I am new to this village and the Hokage is helping me pick out gear. She is going to teach me to be a shinobi,’’ she explained to the nosy girl and stepped a few steps back, not wanting to be that close to a strange person. 

 

Tenten lit up after that, ‘’oohh!! You are the Hokage’s new pupil? That’s so exciting!! Where are you from then? You said you are new to the village right!?’’ she kept asking. Thank god by now Tsunade had noticed what was going on and had arrived at the scene. 

 

‘’I see you are bothering Natsu quite a lot, she doesn’t seem very happy,’’ she said carefully to Tenten who only now noticed how annoyed and uncomfortable Natsu looked. 

 

‘’I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad or anything! I was just curious…’’ she apologized immediately.  

 

‘’It’s fine, I need to just adjust to socializing,’’ Natsu stated back and that earned a confused look from Tenten, but the girl shook it off and didn’t question further. 

 

‘’I got your kunais so we are good to go, we should go get some food, what kind of food you prefer Natsu?’’ Tsunade asked her while walking out of the store, leaving Tenten behind.

 

‘’Ramen,’’ she stated simply with a slight smile. 

 

Tsunade was shocked. Not another Uzumaki loving ramen. I can’t take another one. One is good enough. Does it run in the family? - the thoughts were running through her mind. ‘’Yes, Ramen sounds good, actually I know a good ramen stand close to here,’’ she stated hoping that this girl didn’t eat as much as Naruto. 

 

When they were walking towards Ichiraku Ramen Natsu already seemed more accustomed to the crowd of people. Tsunade figured she adapted easily to her surroundings, it’s a good feature to have as a shinobi. The girl seemed to be deep in thought when they walked so Tsunade didn’t try to start a conversation. 

 

‘’Here we are, Ichiraku Ramen, best ramen in the village,’’ Tsunade exclaimed. When they entered the stand she got immediately greeted by a familiar voice. 

 

‘’Obaa-san!!’’ Naruto cheerily greeted the Hokage, who now was trying to control herself in front of Natsu. 

 

‘’Who are you calling an obaa-san brat! Should have known you would be here,’’ she said with annoyance. She saw Natsu looking at Naruto oddly, it wasn’t the reaction she was imagining the girl would have when meeting her long lost brother. Her face was almost neutral but you could see a hint of shock and disgust in there. Those two emotions were weird to see together. Maybe she would question the girl later about it. 

 

‘’Naruto this is Natsu, Natsu this is Naruto,‘’ Tsunade introduced the two and sat two seats away from Naruto, meaning that Natsu sat next to Naruto. Natsu wasn’t even looking at him, instead she was already ordering her ramen. 

 

‘’Hello nice to meet you Natsu! Are you new to the village?’’ Naruto asked full of energy. 

 

Natsu just glanced slightly at him, ‘’yes.’’ she stated coldly. 

 

‘’Eh,’’ Naruto let out, ‘’just a yes? Then you must be excited to be in Konoha! How have you liked the village?’’  he kept on asking with a smile on his face. 

 

Natsu quickly looked at Tsunade and Tsunade just nodded for her to go ahead and answer the questions and then the girl turned back to look at the counter, sparing a slight look at Naruto, ‘’It’s fine I guess, Tsunade has helped me look around.’’ she answered and seemed to be more excited as her ramen arrived. 

 

Naruto laughed a little, ‘’so you got the Hokage taking you through the village? I wonder what that is like. What has got Obaa-san that interested in you?’’ Naruto asked again with amusement. 

 

Then when moments went by without Natsu answering, Naruto patted her on the back trying to get her attention. ‘’Hello? Anyone home,’’ he said playfully. Now Natsu had all frozen up and just staring at her bowl. Her hand was slowly moving closer to her kunai pouches when Naruto didn’t remove his hand off her back. 

 

Then her hand got stopped by Tsunade, ‘’Natsu is here to be under my personal tutelage. So she will be staying in the Hokage tower from now on. You may end up seeing her a lot,’’ Tsunade quickly explained and thankfully Naruto removed his hand and Natsu seemed to relax. 

 

‘’I apologize for Natsu, we’ve had a long day and she is just tired,’’ Tsunade tried to explain but she guessed her behavior was due to her past - the poor child. 

 

Naruto nodded, ‘’oh I understand, sometimes when I am tired I feel gloomy as well!’’ he stated. Tsunade scoffed a little, that brat? Gloomy? Yeah right, like that’s possible. 

 

Then Tsunade and Naruto exchanged some small talk as they continued to eat, when they were finished Natsu got up and walked out of the stand. ‘’Bye for now Naruto. Do good in practice tomorrow,’’ Tsunade said her goodbyes and walked out of the stand, hearing a ‘’you got it’’ from the background. 

 

‘’Natsu, wait for me!’’ she called out and saw the redheaded girl stop in her tracks. When she catched up to her she could see for a second the girl's expression being that of anger, but it quickly warped out to neutral.

 

‘’Are you feeling good? Maybe meeting him was too much, I apologize for that, I should-’’ Tsunade started to apologize but was cut off by Natsu. 

 

‘’It’s fine, I wasn’t just prepared for the amount of pain I felt. I am fine now, maybe we should return to the Hokage tower?’’ she suggested and Tsunade agreed, seeing it best not to question her too much. It was clear she was bearing a lot of weight on her shoulders that she tried to hide from others. 

 

Maybe one day she would let others help her with that load.

  
  


When they returned to the Hokage tower they headed to Natsu’s room. Tsunade shook her head and sighed, ‘’I will have a solid backstory drafted for you by tomorrow. Then no one will be suspicious of you,’’ Tsunade explained and Natsu nodded for an answer. 

 

For a while after that they continued to walk together in silence. ‘’Is it fine for me to go outside by myself now?’’ Natsu asked Tsunade with a sliver of hope. She knew there was still going to be danger around her walking around by herself but it couldn’t be that bad.

 

Tsunade paused for a while in her steps, she was trying to think what could happen to Natsu if she went outside without anyone accompanying her. There were still too many dangers, especially with the Akatsuki still running around. But she guessed it couldn’t be that bad if she walked through the village only. She needed another person's opinion on this, maybe Jiraiya's? 

  
Then like magic the man in question came waltzing through the right corridor. ‘’Tsunade, there you are. I’ve been looking for you,’’ Jiraiya yelled out immediately when she spotted the famous sucker.


	3. Testing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The third chapter is here, quite fast release, but yeah. Also please note, I don't have anyone to proof read my texts so there are errors :I

‘’Me, for what?’’ Tsunade questioned, baffled. 

 

Jiraiya sighed, ‘’you aren’t the one to forget promises, but they need you at the hospital for Lee’s examinations. I heard you were walking around shopping, what could be so important that couldn’t be bought later?’’ Jiraiya asked

 

Tsunade looked at Natsu really quickly and then back to Jiraiya, trying to figure out what to do. She took a deep breath and then started walking towards her office, thankfully it wasn’t far, ‘’Jiraiya, Natsu, follow me to my office.’’

 

Natsu started following her without saying anything, she didn’t have anywhere else to go. Jiraiya just looked baffled for a while but then followed when he heard Natsu’s first name. He took a first good glance at the girl and started to see the resemblance to Kushina. The toad sage quickly walked up to Tsunade, ‘’wait,  **that** Natsu?’’ for an answer Tsunade just gave him a look, ‘’wait wait wait, how?’’ 

 

‘’Jiraiya, in my office, not here,’’ Tsunade stated simply and thankfully that silenced Jiraiya, he took the hint. After a minute they arrived at the office and instantly Tsunade cast the privacy seals. 

 

‘’Ok now we can talk,’’ she exclaimed simply, ‘’also, yes this is Natsu  _ Namikaze _ .’’ 

 

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and Natsu both in turn, ‘’ok I am going to sit down.’’ he said and sat on the couch. ‘’Alright, so here I thought that Natsu was dead, kidnapped by some psychos!’’ he almost yelled out the sentence. 

 

‘’I was held captive for the first twelve years of my life, then I escaped by a stroke of luck and I ended up on the outskirts of Konoha. Then I was held in custody here in the Hokage tower for few months, because I might still be in danger,’’ she explained with a neutral face while not even looking at Jiraiya. Instead she was glancing out the window and enjoyed the sunset. 

 

Tsunade sighed as Jiraiya looked amazed at all the information, ‘’yes that’s it in a nutshell. Of course it is an S-class secret and now the only ones who know are Natsu, me, you, Koharu and Homura, those two were the ones to tell me about her,’’ Tsunade explained even more. 

 

‘’Okay, I think I got it somehow, you need to tell me the details later. Wait- Hah,’’ Jiraiya laughed a little, seemingly amused, ‘’I’ve spied on the Akatsuki for a while now and they don’t seem to have any info on her. I guess that’s a relief,’’ Jiraiya stated, but then turned to see Natsu wearing a horrified expression. 

 

‘’Did I say something wrong?’’ he asked Tsunade, who just shook her head and walked next to Natsu. ‘’Natsu what is wrong?’’ she asked the scared girl, who just covered her face with her hands. 

 

‘’I know that name - Akatsuki - they… were the ones who kept me locked up,’’ she confessed and in turn earned shocked expressions from Tsunade and Jiraiya. 

 

‘’That’s why the Third was so hellbent on keeping you under check,’’ Tsunade figured out. ‘’But this is bad, I need to rethink letting you out in the village by yourself. You will probably need someone watching over you 24/7,’’ Tsunade sighed, ‘’sorry, this has gotten to be quite a mess.’’ she apologised to the girl, who just nodded for an answer.

 

‘’That is horrible and not good news at all. I am amazed they haven’t come looking for you,’’ he voiced out, noticing a quick expression change on Natsu but he couldn’t identify it quickly enough, ‘’I guess it’s just that we have been lucky, but that doesn’t last for long.’’ he shook his head and stood up from the couch and walked closer to Natsu. 

 

‘’Now Natsu I need you to tell me if you ever saw any of their faces or heard their names, any information that could be relevant,’’ he asked with all seriousness. Tsunade was about to stop him but then she realized Natsu must have had to answer all these kinds of questions already. 

 

‘’I’m sorry but I don’t have much information. Whenever I saw them they were either wearing masks or covering their faces in other ways. I can only tell you most of them were men and just one woman, I guess I could identify their voices if I heard them again… but other than that I don’t have any other information to give you,’’ she explained like a robot almost. It was clear she had already answered this question once or twice before. 

 

Jiraiya nodded, ‘’I understand,’’ he said and turned to look at Tsunade, ‘’yes it maybe for the best to assign a 24/7 patrol on her, it’s the best way to ensure her safety. She will be staying here?’’ Jiraiya asked. 

 

‘’Yes, she will be learning to be a shinobi under me,’’ Tsunade told him. 

 

Jiraiya nodded, understanding that they already had a conversation about all of that. ‘’Well I guess she has a new alias already, what is it? Also where will you say she came from?’’ Jiraiya questioned the new Hokage. 

 

‘’Natsu Kuenai, that is her alias. I didn’t see it necessary to change her first name. Only you are able to recognize it anyways. Also I was thinking I tell everyone that she is someone I met on my travels and I decided to start teaching her and that she was running on an errand and that is why she only arrived here now. Like this even Naruto won’t suspect anything,’’ she explained and when Jiraiya seemed a little awkward about her mentioning Naruto she continued, ‘’she already knows, everything I mean.’’ 

 

‘’Alright, I guess you have to head to the hospital now,’’ Jiraiya figured. 

 

‘’Yes I do, I was supposed to go there during the day, but I got caught up with getting Natsu all prepared that I forgot about it. I will be heading there now,’’ she said and was about to leave through the door already, ‘’can you look after her? Like get her to her room, she knows the place,’’ Tsunade asked. 

 

‘’Yes the mighty Jiraiya can take care of Natsu!’’ he answered and then Tsunade said her thanks and left the room. 

 

Before Jiraiya was about to say anything Natsu opened her mouth, ‘’can we do something before I go back to that room?’’ she asked the Toad Sannin. 

 

‘’Yeah sure I guess,’’ Jiraiya figured, ‘’what you want to do?’’ 

 

‘’Can we go on top of that big stone monument?’’ she said and looked at Jiraiya. 

 

‘’You must mean the Hokage monument and yes we can go there,’’ he answered and started walking towards the exit of the building. ‘’Will you mind if I ask you why you want to go there?’’ 

 

Natsu stayed quiet for a while, thinking of her answer for a while, ‘’I guess I want to see the view from up there and maybe sort through my thoughts.’’ she admitted, quite honestly actually. She looked up to Jiraiya who just smiled, ‘’well kid it’s going to be a hell of view, I promise that.’’ 

 

When they had finally reached the top Natsu just gaped at the scenery and then sat down near the ledge. ‘’It’s really… curious,’’ she admitted after a while. 

 

‘’I guess that is a way to describe it, heh,’’ Jiraiya answered with a slight snicker. The girl seemed really odd at times, but she was still a kid in the end. Jiraiya’s expression saddened when he thought about all Natsu had to go through to get here, possible torture, malnutrition and much worse. Was it really true that this child hadn’t heard of anything in that twelve year period?

 

Jiraiya got snapped out of his thoughts when Natsu started speaking, ‘’You know, I already know you are my godfather and that you are that to Naruto as well. I only heard  _ them  _ speak of you and how you tried tracking them many times. They even joked about you. But some days, these days were few, the masked man came to me and told me bits of information about myself. Those days I felt like I really was someone and to know there was someone possibly trying to find me cheered me up,’’ she explained with a slight smile on her face while glancing at the village. 

 

Jiraiya smiled a little, maybe his efforts weren’t going to waste then. All those years trying to find the baby that had been kidnapped. He had given up eventually, so many years passed and he had lost hope that the child was even alive, but she was there here and now, ‘’I am glad I could help somehow.’’ 

 

Then Natsu’s face turned grim, ‘’but soon after a few years, those days became sad and gloomy. I really didn’t want to know more about the people that didn’t come and help me. The day when the masked man told me you stopped looking for me was the worst. I was abandoned and nobody wanted me to be there for them.’’ she started talking with more and more hatred as she progressed. 

 

‘’I thought you were dead,’’ Jiraiya tried to tell her, but realised it was in vain.

 

‘’I realise I wasn’t worth all the trouble, you all were living your happy lives. Naruto was training to be a shinobi when I was waiting for a that slight glance at  _ their _ hands while they performed some kind of jutsu. I learned to speak properly only because they noticed I was turning slightly insane and they didn’t want me to end my life. I learned things so I didn’t die, but I wanted to survive, I wanted to see my relatives and tell them how I feel about them. That they can go and bother someone else,’’ she stood up at this point and faced Jiraiya. 

 

‘’I don’t need you or Naruto in my life, I can survive on my own and I can take care of myself. I finally got a tiny bit of freedom and I am holding onto it with everything I have because there is no way I am letting it go again,’’ she declared with confidence. 

 

Jiraiya was about to say something but Natsu didn’t let him, ‘’no, I just want to get back to room now. I got my thoughts sorted out now, thank you for getting me here and I know you can’t leave me alone so let’s just go.’’ she said and started walking away, leaving a speechless Jiraiya alone. 

 

‘’I guess we have a bigger problem than we originally thought,’’ he said to himself and walked after Natsu. 

  
  


That same night later when Jiraiya had taken Natsu back to her room and Tsunade had returned to her office to finish paperwork Jiraiya entered the office. ‘’Hey Hime, did your work in the hospital go fine?’’ he asked while scratching back of his head. 

 

Tsunade put her pen down and sighed, ‘’yes it was fine,the surgery was a success, he will recover with rest. How about Natsu? What did you do?’’ she asked with a teasing smile. 

 

‘’About that, it didn’t go so well,’’ Jiraiya admitted with a frown. Tsunade raised her eyebrow in question, ‘’what do you mean? Did she get hurt?’’ she asked in worry.

 

Jiraiya shook his head, ‘’no, nothing like that. It just seems that she bears resentment towards me and Naruto. Those guys that kept her captive - the Akatsuki - really got to her. So now she is hell bent on doing everything without our help,’’ he explained. 

 

‘’She- what? This was your first time meeting her! How could she have known about you and what happened to her that made her not like you?’’ Tsunade barged the Sannin with questions. The person in question sighed shaking his head. 

 

‘’She didn’t tell me much, but apparently one of the Akatsuki kept telling her information about me and Naruto and what we were doing. I searched for her for many years, but I gave up when it started to seem futile. The man who kept her informed her told Natsu about this and she thought that we didn’t care about her. So she realised she needed to get out with her own strength and stop believing in other people,’’ he explained. 

 

‘’That’s… not good at all, is there nothing you can do?’’ Tsunade asked in desperation. 

 

Jiraiya frowned, ‘’she didn’t even let me try. I am telling you, she doesn’t want any help from me, we just need to accept that. Maybe someday, with time, she will start accepting our help. That’s where I will need your help you, be there for her when I can’t,’’ Jiraiya stated firmly and Tsunade nodded. 

 

‘’Just I want to know that you know none of what happened to her is your fault. It’s their fault for corrupting her, manipulating her and it’s our job to undo the damage the best we can,’’ she said with sadness in her voice. 

 

Jiraiya nodded, ‘’I know but right now I can’t do anything. I will trust her with you Hime,’’ he stated grimly. 

 

Tsunade was about to argue but a shinobi came barging into the office. ‘’Hokage-sama! Sasuke Uchiha has left the village,’’ he informed her quickly. 

 

‘’He did what?!’’ Tsunade almost yelled out in shock and then she noticed Sakura walking into the office with tears in her eyes. 

 

‘’H-he left to join Orochimaru…’’ she stated sobbingly, ‘’I tried to stop him, but he didn’t listen! Please get him back! I beg of you Hokage-sama!’’ she pleaded in desperation. 

 

‘’Ok, this is the worst time ever for this to happen, I have no chuunin or jounin left to send on a mission, all are busy or on a mission,’’ Tsunade said while crunching her nose. ‘’Wait, I have one chuunin left, you,’’ she pointed at the shinobi, ‘’go get Nara Shikamaru and tell him he has a mission to complete.’’ she ordered and the shinobi then excused himself and left to get Shikamaru. 

 

‘’This is not going to end well,’’ Jiraiya said with a frown.

 

Tsunade sighed, ‘’Sakura we will get Sasuke back, just wait.’’ she stated and started getting on with the paperwork needed for the mission. 

  
  


The next day, when everyone from the mission was in the hospital already and Sasuke now with Orochimaru, Tsunade visited Natsu’s room after being in the hospital taking care of the patients. When she opened the room she noticed that Natsu was sitting on the same chair as before. ‘’Hey kid, sorry I took so long, a lot of stuff happened overnight,’’ she greeted the girl. 

 

‘’It’s fine, I am used to waiting. But does you being here mean that I can finally go out again?’’ she asked, hopeful. 

 

Tsunade nodded, ‘’yeah, I just finished the paperwork for your residence here. You are now officially a resident of Konohagakure. Also whenever you are not with me there will be a jounin following you, so don’t get too shocked about that. They will try to stay out of your sight,’’ she explained. Natsu nodded and smiled, happy about the news. 

 

She got up from the chair and walked over to Tsunade, ‘’so what will we do today?’’ she asked. 

 

‘’We will go to the training grounds and we will see what you can do, because you mentioned that you know some jutsu already,’’ Tsunade explained and started walking out of the door.

 

Natsu nodded, ‘’alright,’’ she agreed and followed Tsunade out of the door.

 

When they arrived on the training ground Tsunade walked few meters away from Natsu so she was facing her. ‘’Let’s see what you got,’’ she said as to confirm Natsu could show her skills. 

 

Natsu nodded and took a deep breath, she seemed to be arranging her thoughts. She started speeding through the hand seals, ‘’ **Fūton: Fūjin no Jutsu** ,’’ she announced as she brought her hands to her mouth and started to blow the air out of her mouth. She stopped it after a few seconds. 

 

‘’That was the first one I learned, it came to me the easiest,’’ she explained and Tsunade just nodded while observing how she performed. Natsu took it as she could just perform the next one. 

 

She started going through the hand seals again, ‘’ **Doton: Retsudo Tenshō** ,’’ she said and slammed her palms to the earth, causing it to erupt in cracks and pushing the earth out. When she stopped the earth had become uneven and rocky. 

 

‘’You need more control on that one, you used way too much chakra to cast it,’’ Tsunade said observantly. ‘’Is there other ones you know?’’ 

 

Natsu thinked for a while, ‘’I know the Hidden mole jutsu, but I can only hold it for a minute and even that is difficult for me. Also there is one more…’’ she continued but looked quite worried. 

 

When she didn’t continue Tsunade started to get worried, ‘’what is it? You can tell me,’’ she reassured her. Natsu took a deep breath and got a serious face over her face. 

 

‘’I haven’t told you this yet but while staying there they did teach me things. They had witnessed my mother perform this jutsu and so they collected information about it and in hopes of me helping them capture and restrain the Tailed beasts, they taught me it,’’ she explained and Tsunade already had a feeling what technique it was about.

 

Natsu took a few steps back and focused on the trees in front of her. She took a deep breath, ‘’ **Kongō Fūsa** ,’’ she said silently and instantly there appeared chains from behind her which lunged towards the tree and wrapped around it, bringing it down to earth. She then dispelled the chains and looked at Tsunade for her reaction. 

 

‘’That’s a secret Uzumaki technique and the secret to it was lost with Kushina,’’ she stated, amazed at what she had just seen. 

 

Natsu laughed a little, ‘’well I heard they scavenged through the ruins of Waterfall village to get a little amount of information, then they made me experiment with what they got. It gave me something to do and I had time, a lot of time. I made it work,’’ she stated, quite proud. 

 

‘’That’s actually quite amazing, you got a great mind there Natsu. I know you will make a great shinobi one day,’’ Tsunade stated with a smile and walked in front of Natsu. ‘’But first we need to work on your control, you got too much chakra to control it properly. We need to get under control. Also you need a lot of exercise to get your physical strength up, so from today on you will be coming here everyday to do exercises. Try to push your limits as far as you can and don’t forget to rest,’’ Tsunade explained sharply. 

 

‘’I understand,’’ Natsu said with a firm nod. 

 

‘’I will also teach you medical jutsu, because no student of mine goes on the field without knowing even the basics of medical jutsu,’’ Tsunade nagged a little which earned a little snicker from Natsu. Tsunade took a piece of paper from her robes and gave it to Natsu, ‘’that is the exercise regime you will be following for the next months.’’ 

 

Natsu read through the paper, ‘’alright, should I start now?’’ she asked and got a approving nod from Tsunade. They started training after that for few hours when Jiraiya arrived at the scene. 


	4. Fight

‘’Hello Hime,’’ Jiraiya greeted Tsunade and then looked at Natsu, ‘’and greetings to you too Natsu,’’ for an answer he only got a frown and then the girl went back to her exercises. ‘’She still seems to bear the same resentment as earlier, great.’’ he continued, ‘’how is she?’’

 

‘’Good, much better than I ever could have thought. She knows a few jutsu, but the biggest deal is that she knows how to perform the Adamantine Sealing Chains,’’ she explained and got a shocked expression from Jiraiya, ‘’yeah I looked like that as well.’’

 

‘’But that’s impossible how could she have learned that?’’ Jiraiya asked in confusion, seeing that Natsu was looking quite smug right now. 

 

‘’Apparently the Akatsuki knows more than we thought,’’ Tsunade stated. 

 

Jiraiya nodded grimly, ‘’alright, that is wonderful news,’’ he said sarcastically. 

 

‘’Anyways, why are you here Jiraiya? Also how is Naruto?’’ Tsunade asked. 

 

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head, ‘’yeah about that, I am going away for a few years and I am taking Naruto with me.’’ he stated, noticing that Natsu had started to listen in on their conversation, ‘’we got two years before the Akatsuki starts making their move, so I am going to train the brat to be stronger. Then he will be prepared to face the Akatsuki when needed, also then he will probably go after Sasuke.’’ 

 

Tsunade sighed, ‘’I am pretty sure there is nothing I can do to talk you out of it,’’ she figured, ‘’so when are you leaving?’’ 

 

‘’Tomorrow morning,’’ Jiraiya stated.

 

‘’That is way too soon,’’ Tsunade stated, ‘’Naruto hasn’t even healed properly yet.’’ 

 

‘’We have no time to lose, Naruto is already on board with this so we are leaving,’’ Jiraiya said firmly, not giving any room to argue. ‘’Just,’’ he lowered his voice to a whisper, ‘’make sure Natsu is safe and train her properly.’’ 

 

‘’Of course,’’ Tsunade reaffirmed him. 

 

‘’Alright, see you tomorrow morning at the gate!’’ Jiraiya said cheerily, ‘’you too Natsu.’’ he added and saw Natsu puff some air as an answer. ‘’She’s not that excited about it, but make her come. She needs to be social you know, can’t let Minato’s and Kushina's kid to become a social outcast,’’ he said and Tsunade nodded. 

 

‘’I will make her come,’’ she agreed and Natsu didn’t look happy about it. 

 

Jiraiya smiled, ‘’good, see you tomorrow then!’’ he waved his hand and then exited with a bunshin. Tsunade shook her head a little and then turned back to Natsu. 

 

‘’You really can’t stand him?’’ Tsunade asked the girl who then stopped what she was doing and stood up. 

 

‘’No, I can’t. I know this hatred comes from the manipulations of Akatsuki, but I let it go on because it thrives me onward. I am not going to lose it only because I have now met them,’’ she explained, ‘’I only have one person I truly trust, but that is something I am not about to share with you.’’ she added. 

 

Tsunade stared at her for a while without saying anything. It was clear that she was determined to move forwards and it wasn’t out of the scars of her past. No, it was because she had learned through them. But it still didn’t mean that she should let her be, Tsunade knew that she needed to show that family was important. She couldn’t continue to be alone. ‘’I understand, but you know that sometimes those connections to other people can become strength.’’ 

 

Natsu chuckled a little, ‘’maybe they can, but I can’t accept them.’’ 

 

Tsunade was confused why she laughed but she didn’t question it. Natsu was an odd personality and maybe someday she would understand the girl’s odd quirks.

 

‘’Alright, but now continue on with your exercises,’’ Tsunade stated and Natsu did as told.

  
  


The next day a group of people were gathered at the front gates to say their farewells to Jiraiya and Naruto. Natsu was leaning to the gate when everyone was saying their goodbyes. She was observing and listening what they were saying, wondering if she was going to have to say anything of her own. 

 

‘’I’ll come back and then I will go get Sasuke back,’’ Naruto promised to Sakura. Natsu tried to stop herself but she giggled, gaining everyone’s attention. ‘’What is so funny?’’ Naruto asked with a big frown. 

 

Natsu still giggled a little and then stopped leaning at the gate and walked closer to Naruto, ‘’no it’s funny because you really think you can bring your friend back from Orochimaru’s clutches. He went there by choice, he wants to be there,’’ she said, it was the truth and she knew it. 

 

At this point Jiraiya and Tsunade were debating whether or not to stop her. Could she have met Orochimaru sometime before, it was possible of course, but she had said anyone she met had worn masks. How would it be possible she knew their names then, Jiraiya wasn’t really sure what to think. He had found holes in the Natsu’s story before, but it seemed that there were more than a few of them. 

 

‘’Maybe… but there is always a way to bring him back, back home! He fell for Orochimaru’s manipulations and I am going to bring him out of them! I promise!’’ Naruto declared boldly. 

 

Natsu scoffed, ‘’you promise a lot but I am sure you can’t keep it in the end. That man is a snake who will use anyone he can if it means he will become more powerful. Your friend is right there with him, have fun getting his head cleared…’’ Natsu said. 

 

Naruto was frowning deeply now and glaring at Natsu, ‘’how do you even know, you just came here. You don’t know Sasuke like I do, if I say he can be brought back he can!’’ Naruto questioned the girl. Tsunade was about to say something before Natsu’s cover was blown but she noticed the girl in question looking at her with firm eyes. 

 

Natsu shook her head slightly and then turned back to look at Naruto, ‘’I have been Tsunade’s student for awhile now, I have heard from her what kind of person Orochimaru is. Maybe I didn’t know your friend but I can guess. He is a person who wants to powerful, no matter what it takes. Why else would he have gone to the snake?’’ she argued. 

 

Naruto looked down in defeat, but then raised his head, ‘’I don’t care! I am going to show him the right way and bring him back home! No matter what, I made a promise to Sakura and I am going to keep it!’’ he almost yelled out with a firm face. 

 

‘’Alright, we can clearly see that you two have different opinions in this, so let’s stop now when it’s still civil,’’ Jiraiya announced and placed his hands on Natsu’s and Naruto’s shoulders. Natsu quickly brushed the hand off and stepped backwards. Jiraiya sighed and then turned to look at the others. 

 

‘’I guess it’s our time to go,’’ Jiraiya stated and Naruto nodded and smiled. They waved and said goodbyes to everyone and walked away. When they had disappeared from sight everyone started walking away and back to the village. 

 

Tsunade walked next to Natsu, ‘’so you know Orochimaru?’’ she whispered and Natsu nodded. She knew she had gotten out of line there, maybe it was because it was Naruto who had said all those things. 

 

‘’You have to tell me how you know him later, alright?’’ Tsunade stated, it was more of promise than a question. Natsu understood this. 

 

‘’Of course,’’ she agreed, her expression not happy about the development. 

 

Tsunade then smiled a little bit and then turned to look towards Sakura, ‘’Natsu I forgot to tell you yesterday but Sakura will be joining us in training from now on. You two will have to learn to get along,’’ she said and then she indicated for Sakura to come greet Natsu. ‘’Come on, introduce yourselves.’’

 

Sakura then nodded and held her hand out, ‘’hello my name is Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you. I hope we will get along.’’ 

 

Natsu was looking at the hand and then back to Tsunade. She sighed and took the hand, ‘’Nice to meet you, my name is Natsu Kuenai, it will be a pleasure working with you,’’ she introduced herself.

 

‘’Sakura will mostly be learning to be a medic nin, but she will join you in the training grounds as well,’’ Tsunade explained and both of the girls nodded. ‘’Alright let’s get to the training grounds now and I will go through the basics for both of you.’’ 

  
  


  * Eight months later   -



 

Sakura was hurrying through the halls trying to reach the Hokage’s office. When she reached the door she slammed it down and entered the room. ‘’Tsunade-sama I don’t understand why you let her get a promotion without going through the Chuunin exams! It’s unfair and you never gave me a proper reason,’’ she stated firmly but politely, ‘’and now I hear you aren’t even conducting any tests? I must ask you to reconsider this,’’ she added. 

 

Tsunade, who had just been working on her paperwork, held the bridge of her nose and sighed, ‘’how many times I have to tell you Sakura, I can’t tell you the exact reasons for my decisions but I can tell you that for her taking the Chuunin exams is impossible,’’ Tsunade tried to reason with her student. They’ve had this conversation already many times but Sakura wouldn’t let it go so easily. 

 

‘’I understand that, but why can’t you tell me why?’’ Sakura insisted on, ‘’I would be alright with this if you would just conduct some kind of test to measure her abilities,’’ she reasoned. 

 

Tsunade took a deep breath and looked Sakura straight in the eyes, ‘’alright, I will conduct a test and you can be a part of it. Let’s go to the training grounds, Natsu should be there now,’’ Tsunade agreed to Sakura’s demands. She got up from her chair and started walking out of the office. 

 

‘’Great, what will the test be?’’ Sakura questioned when she started following Tsunade. 

 

Tsunade smiled, ‘’you’ll see when we get there.’’

 

When they finally arrived at the training grounds they didn’t see Natsu anywhere in sight. ‘’She’s doing it again?’’ Sakura asked with a sigh and Tsunade just smiled. 

 

‘’Well she is getting quite good at it,’’ Tsunade said and walked a little bit forward, ‘’Natsu we know you know we are here,’’ she stated. Not long after Natsu raised through the earth and appeared before the two. 

 

‘’I can keep it for more than a half an hour already without any huge chakra depletion,’’ she said while walking towards Tsunade. ‘’Also if I pair it with Hiding in Rock technique no one will detect me moving through.’’

 

Sakura raised her eyebrow, ‘’doesn’t that take a huge amount of chakra? No normal shinobi should have enough reserves to keep it up longer than a few minutes,’’ Sakura said with amazement. 

 

‘’I guess Natsu is just special like that,’’ Tsunade figured casually while waiting for Natsu to reach them. When she did she looked at the both questionably. 

 

‘’Why are you two here? We weren’t supposed to do any sparring today right?’’ Natsu asked the two and Tsunade shook her head. 

 

Tsunade smiled, ‘’today you are going to take your Chuunin exam, because obviously I am not letting you go to a different country, even though it would be with a team, it would be too risky.’’ 

 

Natsu rolled her eyes, ‘’yes you have said that a hundred times I get it, I am not to leave the village yet. I am not strong enough.’’ 

 

‘’I still insist on knowing what is going on here,’’ Sakura insisted while the two argued. This happened many times and in the beginning Sakura questioned it but didn’t argue but when the months passed she became more and more curious and she was starting to reach her limit. 

 

‘’If Natsu wants she can tell you, I talked about it with her, but she still likes to keep quiet about and I will respect her wishes,’’ Tsunade explained.

 

Natsu nodded and then grinned, ‘’I just enjoy to watching you lose your mind guessing what is so dangerous about me going out of the village. I will tell you soon,’’ Natsu admitted. 

 

Sakura slumped, ‘’that’s not fair at all.’’ 

 

Then Tsunade put her hands together, interrupting the conversation, ‘’alright now let’s get on with the test,’’ she announced, ‘’like I said - Sakura - you will be a part of this test.’’

 

Both of her students looked at her with anticipation at what the test would be. ‘’Sakura you will be sparring against Natsu, if Natsu wins she will get the promotion, easy as that,’’ she explained. 

 

‘’But that’s not fair she just started training to be a shinobi-’’ Sakura started to argue. 

 

‘’I am fine with that,’’ Natsu agreed before Sakura could argue anymore. 

 

Tsunade was happy with that, ‘’alright it’s all decided you will fight until the other can’t continue. Have fun, I will be observing from the side.’’ Tsunade said and started walking away from the two and to the edge of the training ground.

 

Sakura sighed and faced Natsu, ‘’alright if we are doing this I am going to add something. If I win you will tell me the big secret you two are keeping, even a part of it. I want to understand you more.’’ she suggested. 

 

Natsu was already getting some distance between them by stepping back, while doing that she was thinking of the suggestion. ‘’Yes sure, makes sense to give you an award for winning as well. Not that you will win,’’ Natsu agreed. Then she faced to look at Tsunade.

 

‘’Tsunade is it alright for me to use  _ that _ ?’’ she asked. 

 

Sakura raised her eyebrow in question, she didn’t know what she really meant. ‘’It’s alright,’’ Tsunade confirmed. Natsu started smirking immediately. 

 

‘’Both ready?’’ Tsunade asked and when she got nods from both and they got into position, ‘’start!’’ she announced.

 

Immediately Sakura lunged forwards to attack Natsu, who was flying through seals. When Sakura tried to connected her punch Natsu jumped backwards to evade it. 

 

When Natsu landed to ground again she slammed her hands down, ‘’ **Doton: Retsudo Tenshō** ,’’ she yelled out and the earth started turning quickly catching up to Sakura who was trying to get closer to Natsu. 

 

Sakura started going through hand seals quickly and soon a rock appeared in her place. Natsu noticed this and waited for the attack to come. ‘’Right,’’ she said to herself and blocked Sakura’s punch, but it still pushed her back a few meters. 

 

Sakura smiled to herself, but quickly started launching another attack and Natsu started countering her with her own punches. Soon it was apparent that Natsu was on the losing side, she didn’t have as much skill in taijutsu yet as Sakura did. She jumped backwards and started going through hand seals. 

 

‘’ **Fūton: Fūjin no Jutsu** ,’’ Natsu said with a smirk and blew the dust cloud from her mouth. Sakura saw this coming and lunged to the field before Natsu could bury herself to the ground, but when she entered the field she couldn’t find her anywhere. Then the dust cloud faded away and it was clear Natsu was underground. 

 

‘’I can still sense you,’’ she said and started focusing on locating Natsu’s chakra signature. Minutes went by and nothing started to happen, but then Sakura noticed a spike of chakra coming from her right, ‘’there!’’ she said and went to get the earth cracked, but when she connected the punch she saw chains coming through the earth and jumped back to evade them. 

 

The chains followed her instead and she started evading them left and right. ‘’What are these!?’’ she yelled out when punching one of them and then she regretted it immediately when it wrapped around her arm. She then saw Natsu appearing out of the ground. 

 

Sakura tried pulling her arm out of the chain, but failed. She started going through the hand seals for substitution jutsu, but noticed that she didn’t get her chakra through the other arm. At that point she noticed that the chains were already around her waist and legs. ‘’What are these? Why can’t I do anything,’’ Sakura tried to pull herself out of the chains but found it futile in the end. 

 

Natsu then looked at Tsunade who nodded, ‘’alright the match ends there. Natsu is the victor,’’ she announced and Natsu let Sakura go. ‘’Sakura do you now believe that Natsu deserves to be a Chuunin?’’ she asked the pink haired girl, who looked quite solemn. 

 

‘’I do, but what were those chains?’’ Sakura asked, still quite confused what had happened. 

 

Tsunade looked at Natsu to explain what had happened. ‘’Adamantine Sealing Chains, a secret Uzumaki sealing technique, that only a Uzumaki could use.’’ 

 

Sakura was now even more confused, ‘’but you are not an Uzumaki or are you? I thought Naruto is the only one,’’ she questioned. 

 

‘’I am, at least a little bit. The red hair, comes from the Uzumaki’s, I learned this technique before Tsunade found me, but it was what made her interested in me and in the end made her took me under her wing,’’ Natsu continued explaining calmly. This was part of the story Tsunade had made up for her. 

 

‘’Then your family…?’’ Sakura started asking. 

 

‘’Dead, killed when they attacked our village, they wanted our secrets. In the end they left me alive - they wanted to use my skills to get more power. Tsunade rescued me from them,’’ she told with a neutral face, only if you looked closely you could see a tiny bit of sadness in there. 

 

Tsunade was amazed how well Natsu was telling the story, of course it was close to the truth. ‘’Even now they are trying to get me back, that’s why it is dangerous for me to go outside the village,’’ Natsu added. 

 

Sakura processed the information she had been given, ‘’I am so sorry you had to through all that,’’ she said sadly. 

 

Natsu shook her head, ‘’don’t be, I am now stronger thanks to it and I see the world more clearly for what it is,’’ she explained and walked over to Sakura who was still on the ground. When she reached her Natsu offered her her hand. 

 

Sakura smiled and took the hand, ‘’thank you,’’ she said and got up, ‘’well I guess you are a Chuunin now, right Tsunade-sama.’’ 

 

‘’Yes she is,’’ she affirmed Sakura’s statement, now standing next to her students, ‘’of course there were many things you both could have done better. Sakura, you barging in head first is never a good idea. You need to observe what your opponent does first. Natsu, you started strong but fighting Sakura only with taijutsu could’ve been your downfall if she would’ve gotten a good punch in. Never underestimate your opponent,’’ she pointed out both of their errors. ‘’Also Sakura could pinpoint your location before the chains came out of the ground, I assume you can’t keep all three jutsu on at the same time?’’ 

 

Natsu nodded, ‘’yeah I lose control of one if I try it, the chains take too much concentration to pull so I can’t keep all three at the same time,’’ she explained. 

 

‘’We need to figure out for you to use all three or you are dangered when using the chains,’’ Tsunade said while in thought. ‘’Also work on your taijutsu, that was terrible what you were doing, unacceptable from my student,’’ she added. 

 

‘’I understand, I hope I can start the medic nin training soon? Is my control starting to reach the required level?’’ Natsu asked hopefully. 

 

Tsunade thought about for a while, ‘’it’s close, but you need to work on it a little bit more. You are progressing in a really fast speed though, it’s impressive with your chakra reserves. Be more proud of yourself,’’ she complimented the girl. 

 

‘’Sakura already has the basics down, I need to try to catch up,’’ she insisted. 

 

Tsunade sighed, ‘’I already told you, but you two have different strengths. Natsu you will never be as good as Sakura when it comes to being a medic nin and Sakura will never have your ninjutsu skills Natsu,’’ she explained. 

 

Natsu nodded grimly, still not wanting to accept the fact that she will never have as good chakra control as Sakura. ‘’I will get my control in the required level in a month, count on that,’’ Natsu promised and Tsunade just laughed. 

 

‘’I’m sure you will,’’ she said, ‘’come get your jacket from my office later today. Now, both of you back to training.’’ she announced and both of the students sighed. Sakura headed back to the hospital and Natsu went back to trying to combine the jutsus. 


End file.
